Men’s Water Polo Ready for Showdown Against Stanford

The RematchAfter being ranked as the No. 2 ranked team, the school's highest national ranking since winning the national championship in 1979, UC Santa Barbara defeated Iona and Harvard in a doubleheader last Sunday. UCSB cruised past Iona with a score of 15-8 and then took down Harvard in the afternoon, 16-12.

Coming off of those two wins, UC Santa Barbara (14-3) looks to back up their No. 2 ranking with a win against No. 5 Stanford (6-3) this Saturday, Oct. 13. The two schools competed against each other twice already, each team getting a win. The Cardinals prevailed in the first match at the Northern California Tournament 8-7, while the Gauchos got the best of the Cardinal in the Southern California Tournament with a score of 12-9.

Both matches have been close contests, making this upcoming game an intriguing pairing. In the win over Stanford, Teddy Zhang led the Gauchos in scoring with a hat trick while goalkeeper Myles Christian recorded an impressive 15 saves.

This weekend's showdown against Stanford opens the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation conference play for UCSB.

Team LeadersAbout to begin MPSF conference play, the Gauchos boast an overall record of 14-3. The offense is producing goals at an average rate of 14 goals per game, ranking UCSB third in the MPSF. Leading the offense, Matt Gronow has tallied 37 goals in 17 games, ranking him 12th among the goal scoring leaders. Not far behind is Evan Dellinger who has 34 goals in 16 games, placing him 13th in the rankings. Continuing to impress in the goal is senior, Myles Christian. Producing 126 saves in just 11 games, Christian is averaging 11.45 saves per game, ranking him third in saves among the goalies.

Further Down the ScheduleOnce the men's water polo team faces Stanford, the schedule does not get any easier as the Gauchos play UCLA next week. That game will be played on Saturday, Oct. 20 at noon at the UCSB Campus Pool.

Tickets for home men's water polo games are available by visiting the Ticket Office in the Intercollegiate Athletics Building on campus, by calling (805) 893-UCSB or by clicking here.